APPLETON - The attorney representing the parents of the bystander fatally shot by a police officer at a downtown bar in May has filed notice preserving the right to file a lawsuit.

The document served Wednesday on Appleton City Clerk Kami Lynch, Police Chief Todd Thomas and Lt. Jay Steinke is known as a notice of injury. Under state law, it must be filed within 120 days of an incident and puts a government entity on notice that a lawsuit may be filed against it.

Thomas directed questions to City Attorney Jim Walsh, who told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin that he sent the notice to Gunta Law Offices in Milwaukee, the city's outside counsel for the shooting.

The city won't comment until the Milwaukee law firm reviews the notice and advises them on next steps, Walsh said.

Steinke and another Appleton officer ran to Jack's Apple Pub in the early morning hours of May 21 after they were told that a man had fired a gun there. Inside, Steinke saw a man with a gun, later identified as Henry Nellum, and shot at him while Steinke was being pushed by patrons who were trying to get out, authorities said previously. Nellum was shot in the left bicep but bystander Jimmie M. Sanders was fatally struck.

Milwaukee personal injury and civil rights attorney Jonathan Safran is looking into the specific claims contained in the notice. Those claims could potentially turn into a lawsuit.

The notice links Sanders' death to actions and inactions by Steinke, the police department and the city.

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Jack's Apple Pub was the scene of an officer-involved shooting in the early morning hours of May 21.(Photo: Wm. Glasheen/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

Sanders' family could seek monetary damages but it's too early to specify an amount, Safran said.

The city is self-insured up to $200,000 and has a risk management fund that would pay legal expenses for the city and claims up to that amount, city spokesman Chad Doran told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin in an email in June. The city's insurance carrier, Cities and Villages Mutual Insurance Company, would cover anything beyond that amount, he said.

Outagamie County District Attorney Carrie Schneider announced in June that her office would not file charges against Steinke, saying she believed he "acted appropriately given the threat."

But Safran argues in the notice that Steinke's conduct involved "negligent and intentional inappropriate, unwarranted, excessive, improper and unconstitutional acts."

"Lt. Steinke was unaware if the black male (Nellum) was the alleged shooter, if he was a citizen with a concealed carry permit to possess a gun, or who the black male might be," Safran wrote.

Safran doesn't believe the officers heard any gunshots or had a description of the alleged shooter when they responded. Nellum didn't say anything and didn't point the gun in a specific direction, including at Steinke or anyone else, Safran wrote in the notice.

According to the notice, Steinke doesn't appear to have:

Given any commands to the person he saw to drop the gun or raise his hands.

Any evidence of the person's intent to harm or kill anyone.

Determined whether other reasonable options were available to avoid using deadly force.

Isolated the targeted person before shooting so no one else was in harm's way.

Safran is also looking into the claim that the police department failed to adequately train, supervise and control its officers; provide sufficient active shooter training; and adequately discipline officer misconduct.

The notice also asserts that the city failed to require Jack's Apple Pub to have security measures to ensure patrons' safety, including metal detectors and bouncers, in light of the 75 calls for police service over the last year, the largest proportion of which were related to disturbances.

The attorney for the bar previously told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin that he didn't think the calls for service and the shooting were related.

Safran said he had been in contact with the bar and its insurance company before Wednesday's notice of injury was filed. The bar is aware of a potential claim against it, he said.